Shavuot Sermon

SERMON     SHAVUOT        5 Sivan 5785    June 1, 2025

Rabbi David Edleson    Temple Sinai       South Burlington, Vermont

THE PROFOUND IF BORING WISDOM OF JEWISH TRADITION:   RULE OF LAW

Rule.   Of.   Law. 

These three words rarely conjure up a deep sense of holiness, or spirituality, but these three words sum up what is perhaps the most profound wisdom of our tradition.  

Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah, and while there is much drama in the description of lightning and thunder and blasts of the shofar, matan Torah, the giving of the Torah boils down to God’s demanding that we live under the rule of law. 

Even if some of those laws are imperfect.   Even if some of those laws are, to us, shockingly wrong, the Torah’s main argument is that you can’t have a society that is holy and good if you don’t have rule of law.  The law and our court system should treat rich and poor, powerful and peasant,  Jew and permanent residents alike.   Kings will rise that will want to rule by fiat, and they will get rich of the work of the people , so even the kings must abide by the law. 

This is not a very sexy kind of spirituality. 

It is not about doing yoga or finding your inner bliss.

It is not about chanting and drumming under the stars.

It is not about a peaceful god coming to earth to love us all and forgive our wrongs.

It is not about dancing naked to the Grateful Dead.  

It is not Emerson telling us to speak our “latent conviction and it shall become the universal sense.” 

But the Torah, and the Talmudic tradition that follows it and that still defines Jewish practice are all based on the idea that a society that wants to be stable, protect its vulnerable, and prevent societal turmoil and distrust must first have a system of laws that are fair, and that protect the individual from abuse and crime, but also that balance the rights of the individual with the good of the people and the stability of the society.   

This, along with Hebrew and antisemitism, are probably why there aren’t more Jews in the world.  It’s a hard sell and it can be particularly hard for us to that this idea offers us a satisfying sense of spirituality or connection with God   It is a particular challenge for us as Reform Jews who are rooted in an overall rejection of much of traditional Jewish law.

Maybe this is why Shavuot is the least celebrated of our major chagim.  Many of us hesitate when asked what it is about.  Cheesecake? 

I want to suggest that we are living through a time that reminds us of how fundamental rule of law is to our basic sense of safety and connection.   Without it, the fabric that binds us starts to fray and unravel, and while we can still find close our door or go out into nature and find moments of spiritual connection and transcendence, but as a society,  we are not spiritually well, and I think we can all sense this. 

Shavuot just never gets the respect it deserves and the times we are living through can remind us of the profound wisdom that is woven into the structure of the Jewish year.    Everybody loves Pesach.  We celebrate freedom.  We overcome slavery.  Even though we are trapped at a table without breadsticks for hours, we love it and have filled with fun songs and traditions that make it central to our sense of being Jewish.

But Passover does not stand alone.   Beginning at Passover, we are commanded, as a law, to count the Omer, to ritually count off 49 days, seven weeks until we arrive at Shavuot and the giving of the Torah at Sinai.   In other words, the freedom of Passover is chained to the giving of law at Shavuot.   There is no real freedom without a stable society and that requires rule of law. 

We do not discard law because some laws are wrong.  Instead, we have ways of correcting the law.  In the Torah itself, the Daughters of Zelophehad petition the leadership to allow women to inherit property from their parents.   Moses consults God and God comes back with, “yes, they’re right.” 

Later we had the Great Council, and the Sanhedrin, and the law evolves through rabbinic responsa and councils.   In fact,  the expression  tikkun olam, repairing the world – an idea dear to the hearts of liberal Jews everywhere -  tikkun olam was originally and legal practice, supported by the rabbis, that allowed them to make a correction if the strict practice of a particular law creates widespread harm or instability.  A Tikkun Olam was a legal loophole.  It was repairing the world but through a liberal interpretation of law.   Much to the chagrin of conservative jurors everywhere, the rabbis were not originalists. 

I think we need to be creative in coming up with some fun new ways of celebrating this, to be sure not to take it for granted.   We traditionally read the Book of Ruth at Shavuot, so maybe we should come up with a Ruth Shpiel;  or a Cheesecake Bakeoff, or lean in to Jewish tradition and have a study session, not all night, but on one Jewish law and explore it in depth.  

We are named Temple Sinai, after all, and right now, being in a sacred space that is name after the importance of law and predictability and stability in a society feels very good.   

Happy Shavuot.  Chag Sameach!

David